JP/17/QA

Wood or plastic as long as clean

Dear Dr. Donya,

I have a new baby and it is time to start making some solid food for her. My question is, when using a cutting board which one is safer, a wooden one or a plastic one? --Jill

Dear Jill,

The most important factor is the ability to clean and sanitize. The ideal board should be smooth, non-porous and resistant to scratching or scoring. Germs can live in scratches or cuts on the board for a long time until the next time the board is used, and can then contaminate other food. So a smooth, hard surface makes a cutting board easier to clean and more difficult for germs to penetrate.

Durability. Ideally, you should wash the board with hot soapy water. Then sanitize it by rinsing it after every use with a bleach and water solution (one to two teaspoons of bleach for each quart of water). Air-dry your cutting board to avoid recontaminating it with a dirty towel.

Whether wood or plastic is safer hasn't been determined. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition recommends that you use one board for cutting up foods that you plan to cook such as raw meats, poultry, fish, vegetables and one for ready-to-eat foods such as breads and fresh fruits. It's important to clean the cutting board after cutting raw meat. --Dr. Donya